Their old kitchen felt disconnected from both the dining area and the backyard, which looks out on state park woodlands. By conditioning an underused sunroom and incorporating it into the kitchen space, they can now interact with guests while cooking and watch the birds while baking or enjoying their breakfast.
All Projects Medford, MA
Home Sweet Forever Home
Bathrooms
Energy Efficiency
Interiors
Kitchens
Whole House
This couple bought this 1960s ranch home in 2001 intending to live here forever, and knew some updates would eventually be needed to ensure accessibility as they got older. Over the years, they thought a lot about how to adapt their home to accommodate potential changes in physical ability. At one point, they hired an architect to develop a plan focused on aging in place, but that plan didn’t address one of their key priorities: home performance. This is why they were so glad to learn about Byggmeister — our focus on optimizing thermal comfort and operating efficiency, combined with our experience in adapting older homes made us the perfect fit for their project.
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Existing
New
Most 1960s ranches like this one already have a good layout for 1st floor living, which helped us limit expensive reconfiguration. Eliminating elements that almost never got used like the living room fireplace, the sunroom doors, and the tight corner shower in the bathroom allowed us to add more functional storage and reduce air leakage.
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After
Also typical of the 1960s was the signature pink bathroom fixtures and finishes! After hanging on for more than 50 years it was time for a new look. A spacious low-threshold shower with optional seating, wide doors, and grab bars allows easy and safe access as they age.
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After
Indoor air quality and comfort were also big priorities, which we addressed by thoroughly insulating the roofline and installing a ducted heat pump and Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) with MERV 13 filters. We eliminated all forms of combustion from the home and installed an effective kitchen exhaust and radon mitigation system to further reduce indoor pollutants.
In partial renovations where we don’t open up the entire building envelope there’s a lot of air leakage that we can’t address. However, the client was committed to going as far as possible to improve performance and was willing to remove all their belongings, which allowed us to use a whole-house air sealing system called Aerobarrier. It works by filling the home with an aerosolized sealant while pressurizing with blower door fans to drive the sealant into gaps and cracks until it builds up and seals them. Our final blower door test showed that almost 90% of all air leaks had been sealed, making this home’s air leakage better than what is currently required for new construction.
Home Sweet Forever Home